There is a point to this story, I promise

I know a few of my readers have probably read this on STLwed but I thought I'd post it here too.

I never thought I'd not notice my pet was missing....

Last night my husband and I made a fire in our fire pit. We got sleepy and he went out a few times to pour water on it and put it out. We made sure BOTH Pete AND Oliver, our kitties, were inside since they both like to escape into the backyard. They were. Michael and I watched a little tv in the living room and went to bed- we sleep with the door shut so they don't crawl all over our heads.

We had nothing to do this morning so we slept in and woke up to Pete trying to karate kick the door down and he was meowing like crazy! I just figured he was hungry but I thought it was odd that Oliver didn't come running so I called him.... nothing. I looked everywhere and didn't see him. Panic set in, I woke Michael and got dressed. We were standing in the kitchen and we heard the saddest, most forlorn meow ever and I realized HE'S OUTSIDE! I ran out expecting to see him chasing bugs, digging (he was a dog in a former life, we think) or sunning on a chair. Nope. Then I saw his collar, open and laying in a corner near the sunroom. Our sunroom is raised and there is that lattice all around the bottom to keep animals out and somehow he got stuck under there (or maybe just stayed there for safety.) When I found him he just melted in my arms like he always does and I brought him inside. Poor little guy! We've let them out a few times while we keep an eye on them in the daytime but they are really inside cats that don't go out very often. I don't know if they just choose not to or don't know how but they've never gotten over the fence and out of the backyard so that was a little comforting to know that he was most likely in our yard... but still!

How did this happen?!!? How did he get out? Here's what I think... when we went to bed it was a nice night so we had our bedroom window open. It can open from both sides and the screen slides and since it had been so long since we opened the windows we must have forgotten the screen was on the other side and and Oliver must have jumped out! (We only have one floor so the ground wasn't far.) Thank goodness it was a nice night and not rainy or freezing and thankfully no creepy animals tried to get him or he didn't eat some toxic plant and get sick. We took him to the vet right after we found him and they said he was fine but I was so scared and I felt terrible. They said he probably didn't sleep at all and he's been sleeping all day long.

If you're still reading this crazy long post from The Cat Lady, there is a point to this rambling story and promised! Make sure all of your pets are vaccinated and up to date (UTD) on all types of flea medications, shots, etc. and make sure they are microchipped! He popped his collar off but any vet or shelter could have told someone where to return him. Also- if they are microchipped, make sure the address is UTD or tag it to your vet. We would have been devastated had he been truly lost.